Road roller
stand at Belvoir Castle show 2008]] Road Rollers The first rollers were steam powered, later they were adapted to Diesel engines. Modern rollers are sophisticated machine with Hydraulic drive, variable compaction, and panoramic operators cabins, that rotate to suit the direction of travel. History (based on wikipedia entry A Road roller (sometimes called a roller-compactor, or just roller) is an item of construction plant used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations. In many parts of the world, road rollers are still known colloquially as steam rollers, regardless of their method of propulsion. This typically only applies to the largest examples (used for road-making). History The first road rollers were horse-drawn, and were probably just borrowed farm implements'' (see roller (agricultural tool)). Since the effectiveness of a roller depends to a large extent on its weight, self-powered vehicles replaced horse-drawn rollers from the mid 1800s. The first such vehicles were steam rollers. Double-cylinder designs were preferred, and Single-cylinder steam rollers were uncommon and unpopular, as the power impulses from the steam engine would produce slight waves in the road. Some road building companies in the United states used steamrollers through the 1950s, and in the UK, some remained in commercial service until the early 1970s. As internal combustion engine technology improved during the 20th century, kerosene-, gasoline- (petrol), and diesel-powered rollers gradually replaced their steam-powered counterparts. The first internal-combustion powered road rollers were very similar to the steam rollers they replaced. They used similar mechanisms to transmit power from the engine to the wheels, typically large, exposed spur gears. Some companies did not like them in their infancy, as the engines of the era were typically hard to start, particularly the kerosene-powered ones. Some companies attempted to convert steam rollers int diesel rollers (often when the boiler had failed. Som machines had McLaren diesels fitted. Other were built by the factory, with Marshalls having built at least one that was diesel engined on a steam engine frame. Virtually all road rollers in commercial use now use diesel powered. Uses Road rollers work by using the weight of the vehicle to compress the surface being rolled. Initial compaction of the substrate is done using a '''pneumatic-tyred roller', where instead of the single- or double-drum is replaced by two rows (front and back) of pneumatically filled tyres. The flexibility of the tyres, with a certain amount of vertical movement of the wheels, enables the roller to operate effectively on uneven ground. The finish is done using metal-drum rollers to ensure a smooth, even result. Rollers are also used in landfill compaction. Such compactors typically have sprags ('sheeps-foot') wheels and do not attempt to achieve a smooth surface. The sprags aid in compression due to a smaller surface area being in contact with the ground. Configurations The roller can be a simple drum with a handle that can be operated by one man, and weighs 100 pounds, all the way up to a massive ride-on road roller weighing 20 tonnes and costing more than £100,000. A landfill compactor unit can weigh 59 short tons (54 tonnes). On some machines the drums may be filled with water. Roller Types * Manual walk-behind * Powered walk-behind (electric or diesel/gas powered) * Trench roller (manual units or radio-frequency remote control) * Ride-on * Ride-on with knock-down bar * Ride-on articulating-swivel * Vibratory * Pneumatic-tyre * Tractor mounted and powered (this may be a 'one-off' – see gallery picture below) Drum types Drums come in various widths: 24-to-84 inches * Single-drum sheeps/pad-foot (soil) * Single-drum smooth (asphalt) * Double-drum (duplex) sheeps/pad-foot (soil) * Double-drum (duplex) smooth (asphalt) * 3-wheel cleat with bulldozing blade (landfills) Variations and features *On some machines, the drums may be filled with water on site to achieve the desired vehicle weight. When not filled, the lighter machine is easier and cheaper to transport between worksites. *Additional compaction may be achieved by vibrating the roller drums. *Water lubrication may be provided to the drum surface to avoid hot asphalt (for example) sticking to the drum *Hydraulic transmission permits greater design flexibility (early examples were direct mechanical drive) and reduces the number of moving parts exposed to contaminants of construction sites *Human-propelled rollers may only have a single roller drum *Self-propelled rollers may have two drums, mounted one in front of the other (format known as 'duplex'), or three rolls, or just one, with the back rollers replaced with treaded pneumatic tyres for increased traction *Over the years various strange machines have been built for specialist operations. Including one machine with huge twin drums for a dam building contract to compact the clay core. Manufacturers UK Manufactures - Steam Rollers * Wm Allchin & Co. - Northampton * Armstrong & Whitworth - Manchester * Aveling-Barford * Aveling and Porter - Rochester * Babcock and Wilcox - Lincoln * Charles Burrell * Clayton & Shuttleworth * Fowler - Leeds * Garrett - Leiston, Suffolk * Marshall, Sons & Co. - Gainsborough * J & H McLaren - Leeds * Robey - Lincoln * Ruston & Hornsby - Lincoln * Ruston Proctor - Lincoln * Thomas Green & Son - Leeds * Wallis & Steevens - Basingstoke * William Tasker & Sons - Andover, Hampshire * Vickers Armstrong - (built some in Newcastle post war for Aveling Barford) Other steam roller manufacturers Steam rollers were also made by many ither companies world wide, * Albaret - USA * Hamm - Germany * He UK Manufactures of Motor Rollers (early) * [[Atkinsons Clitheroe, Lancs (took over Thomas Greens) * Auto Mowers ? * Aveling-Barford Grantham * Aveling Marshall Grantham * Barbour Green ? * Barford & Perkins Huntington * BSP International Ipswich * Fowler - Leeds * Huber - USA * Marshalls - Gainsbrough * Motor Units (Singer Cars) * Thomas Green & Son Leeds * Stothert & Pitt - Bath (only made 'Vibroroll' motor rollers) * Vibromax (now JCB) * Wallis & Steevens - Basingstoke Other manufacturers * ABG (Germany) — SD/TD (purchased by Ingersoll Rand and now part of Volvo CE) * AGICO ? * Albaret (Germany) — PT (now part of Caterpillar) * Ammann-Rammax (Swiss) — SD/TD/PT (Rammax of Germany and Ammann of Switerland, owner of STA designs) * Atlas (Germany) — SD * Aveling-Barford (England) — TD/PT/3P * Benford (England) — SD/TD (purchased by Terex) * Bitelli (Italy) — SD/TD/PT (now part of Caterpillar) * Blaw Knox (England) -TD/PT (known for pavers, but also had roller models) * BOM-MACH (South Africa) * BOMAG (Germany) — SD/TD/PT (BOMAG/HYPAC in the USA market) * Buffalo-Springfield Roller Company (USA) (purchased by Kohring and eventually Bomag in the USA) * Case CE (USA) — SD (brands the Ammann/Sta machines as Case in the USA * Caterpillar Inc. (USA) — SD/TD/PT (has the former lines of RAYGO, BROS and Bitelli * Coates (Australia) — TD (disbanded) * CORINSA (SPAIN) — PT/TD * CMI-Terex (USA) — 3P (has the former lines of REX and Benford) * Davelco (Australia) — TD (disbanded) * Dynapac (Sweden) — SD/TD/PT/3P (now part of Atlas Copco) * Galion * GEMCO * Hamm AG (Germany) — SD/TD/PT/3P (now part of the Wirtgen Group) * Huber — Company * HYPAC (USA) — part of Bomag USA * Hyster (USA) — SD/TD/PT (part of HYPAC and Bomag USA) * Ingersoll Rand (USA) — SD/TD/PT (now owned by VOLVO CE) * Ingram Compaction * Kamani Engineering Corporation (India) (now part of the RPG Group) — tractor-mounted — production ended c. 1970-1980 * Kemna, Breslau * KMEC * Lebrero (Spain) — SD/TD/PT * LeeBoy (USA) — SD * LiuGong * Marshall (England) — TD * Mikasa * Moore Malcolm Road Rollers (Australia) — PT (now disbanded) * Multiquip/Rammax * Mustang (England) ? * Pacific Road Roller (Australia) — SD/PT (disbanded) * Pannel Plant (Australia) — SD/TD (purchased by Bomag) * Raygo (USA) — SD/TD/PT (purchased by Caterpillar) * Rex (USA) — SD/TD/3P (purchaced by CMI and then Terex) * Sakai Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Japan) — SD/TD/PT/3P * Sany (China) — SD/TD/PT * Sicom (Italy) — SD/TD * Simesa (Italy) — SD * Sinoway Industrial (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd * Equipment(China) — SD/TD/PT * STA / Stavostroj (Czech Republic) — SD/TD/PT (now owned by Ammann; many companies use the STA PT roller design) * STAMPEDE (South Africa) * Stone Equipment Co. (USA) — SD * Strothert & Pitt (England) — TD * SuperPac (Canada) — SD (was Champion Superpac) * Tampo (USA) — SD/TD * VIPAC (South-Africa) - Manufactured by HA Plant Maintenance (High Quality Pedestrian Rollers)-TD *Vibromax (Germany) — SD/TD/PT (purchased by JCB, now branded JCB) * Volvo CE (Sweden) — SD/TD/PT (purchased Ingersoll Rand, now branded Volvo) * Wacker Neuson * Wallis & Stevens (England) — 3P * Waterous Engine Co. ? * NTC STAVEBNI TECHNIKA (Czech Republic) — manufacturer of walk-behind and light tandem rollers KEY: * SD = Single drum * TD = Tandem drum * PT = Pneumatic tyre — Rubber tyre or multi-tyre are also common * 3P = 3-point rollers — These are very similar to the old steam roller design Modern Rollers and Compaction machinery (Worldwide) * Bomag * Case CE * Caterpillar * Dynapac(= Atlas Copco) * Galion * Hamm * HYPAC * JCB - was Vibromax * Ingersoll Rand * Rammax * Terex * Wacker Road Roller Association Road Roller Association The organisation and website for all collectors of rollers. http://www.r-r-a.org.uk/ See also * Steam roller - the first powered road rollers * Roller - for farm rollers * Landfill compactor vehicle External links *Road Roller Association – UK-based society dedicated to the preservation of steam (and motor) rollers and ancillary road-making equipment. Category:Glossary Category:Construction plant Category:Road rollers Category:Road building machinery